Wes Kimbell on America's Internal Checkpoints
During a routine trip from San Diego to Phoenix in 2009, Pastor Steven Anderson was stopped at an internal immigration checkpoint about 70 miles from the Mexican border. A stern-looking Border Patrol agent asked Anderson to provide proof of citizenship and requested permission to search his car. The persistent pastor declined both, citing his Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Ultimately, a Border Patrol agent and a state police officer simultaneously broke both windows of his car and shot the pastor with Tasers from each side, delivering lengthy and repeated shocks while Anderson repeatedly screamed in agony. The brutality was captured on video. Anderson is a hero to the members of a growing national cause, writes Wes Kimbell. A decentralized movement of refuseniks is increasingly fighting back against the Border Patrol's shocking internal checkpoint system.